It’s not always clear what’s meant when a phrase like “clean eating” enters the conversation. Is the term just a catchall for someone’s idea of healthy food? Have the salads you’ve been making for years been dirty this whole time? Green Chef is a meal kit company that leans into the idea of clean eating, which they define as “eating foods that are as close to their natural state as possible, ideally organic with limited processed ingredients.” Specifically, that means “organic whole fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grain options, and good fats [like nuts, seeds, and fish], while limiting added sugar and sodium.”
Of the half dozen meal kit delivery services I’ve tried, Green Chef offers the widest variety of options for keto (low-carb, high protein), gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan meals. Green Chef also states that all their meals are made using “organic produce, cage-free eggs, antibiotic-and-hormone-free chicken, and sustainably sourced seafood.”
The focus on high-quality ingredients and food that works for various dietary preferences is nice, but a good meal kit should also make your weekly cooking easier and your meals more enjoyable. To figure out if the food was any good, I cooked three Green Chef meals a week for two weeks for my family of four. Here’s my honest Green Chef review.
What are Green Chef recipes like?
Companies that advertise themselves as promoting clean eating don’t always sell food that’s rich and filling. But the recipes I ordered from Green Chef offered surprisingly polished and comforting food, like a creamy risotto with Parmesan broccoli, which was about as good as anything I could have ordered for takeout.
New subscribers to Green Chef will be prompted to choose at least one of eight general dietary preferences: Mediterranean, Gut & Brain Health (which a Green Chef spokesperson said are “higher-fiber meals featuring antioxidants and healthy fats that aim to support energy and immunity while helping to improve digestion”), Calorie Smart (lower calorie options), Quick & Easy, Plant Based, Protein Packed, Keto, and Gluten Free. Your choices will filter your menu options each week, prioritizing whatever your focus is at the top of the list. You can still pick meals from any of the other categories at any time, and each week has more than 80 different meals to choose from.
What I liked:
Green Chef recipe kits generally used one of a few templates: roasted or sautéed proteins with veggie sides, rice and grain bowls, flatbreads, salads, soups, sandwiches, and pastas. Even though, overall, the dishes were simple—think roasted pork loin and green beans—Green Chef adds little creative pops of flavor to each dish. A sriracha and apricot jam pan sauce turned a simple meal of chicken and broccoli into something I’d be happy to serve guests. Lemony chicken cutlets were accompanied by fennel-orange spiced roasted vegetables and couscous cooked in chicken stock. Salmon Caesar salad swapped out standard croutons for crunchy baked Parmesan frico. Each week, the menus include a range of global influences and generally it feels like there’s plenty of flavor variety to choose from.
What I didn’t like:
Green Chef loaded up my weekly menus with frequent appearances by one or two types of produce that happened to be in season. For example, several of the dishes offered in a given week contained broccoli. There isn’t an option to mix and match side dishes, so unless you’re really craving broccoli, it can feel a bit tedious.
What kinds of ingredients should you expect from Green Chef?
Green Chef prides itself on its status as the first certified organic meal kit service. Almost all of the produce you receive is organic (and noted if not), and you can select organic meats and seafood for a small upcharge. Depending on the recipe, you will need some basic pantry ingredients like cooking oils, butter, sugar, salt, and pepper.